A few weeks ago, in the In Focus podcast, we discussed the controversy over India being ranked 180th out of 180 countries in the Environment Protection Index. Now, soon after being ranked worst in the world for environmental protection, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has proposed changes to the four key laws that govern environmental protection and pollution – the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991.
The changes, according to the government, are an attempt to “decriminalize” minor infringements of environmental regulations. So, what exactly are these changes? Will they help the cause of Environmental protection? Or will they embolden violators to adopt a pollute-and-pay approach, as some critics seem to fear?